F&N Subsidiary To Buy 23.1% Stake In Cocoaland For RM54.6m

Singapore closed up 0.44 percent, or 12.87 points, at 2,938.74.

Singapore Airlines fell 1.55 percent to 15.20, while Olam International rose 6.77 percent to 2.68.

Fraser and Neave (F&N)’s Bursa-listed subsidiary is buying a 23.1% stake in Cocoaland Holdings Berhad (CHB) for RM54.6m ($23.6m), in a bid to strengthen its food products portfolio. CHB, a Bursa-listed investment holding company whose units manufacture and distribute processed and preserved foods, fruit juices and other foodstuff, is Malaysia’s sole coco pie producer. A leading gummies manufacturer in the Asean region, CHB also exports to 50 countries. ‘Along with our investments in soft drinks, beer and dairies, this will give us a solid platform to realise our growth ambitions,’ said F&N Food and Beverage chief executive Koh Poh Tiong

Ying Li Acquires Chongqing Site For Rmb697m

Ying Li International Real Estate has acquired a commercial development site in China’s Chongqing city for Rmb697m ($139.5m). It added in a separate announcement that it has obtained credit facilities of up to US$200m from Standard Chartered Bank (China). The money will be used to make site acquisitions and develop projects, it said. The 102,483 square feet commercial site it bought will be developed into 968,752 sq ft of grade A office space and 430,556 sq ft of high-end retail space. The gross floor area will be about 1.7m sq ft. The site is in the Jiefangbei central business district and is part of the Chongqing municipal government’s Rmb600b plan to redevelop the city centre to make Chongqing CBD a financial hub. The project is expected to be completed by end-2013.

Eu Yan Sang’s Earnings Jump 47%; Proposes 1-For-5 Bonus Issue

Eu Yan Sang International posted a 47% yoy increase in its FY10 net profit to $19.2m, boosted in part by a $1.17m fair value gain on investment properties and a $331,000 revaluation gain on property, plant and equipment. Revenue increased 10%, mainly attributable to the increase in retail sales in all 3 core markets. Segmentally, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) retail segment saw revenue rise 13% to $197.6m, while the TCM wholesale segment saw revenue fall 5% to $31m because of lower exports to China due to a license renewal issue. Revenue from clinics was flat at $14.3m. At the end of FY10, Eu Yan Sang had a retail presence of 165 stores and 21 clinics, having recently launched a medical centre in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, the company has declared a dividend of 2.5 cents – comprising a final dividend of one cent and a special dividend of 1.5 cents. It has also proposed a 1-for-5 bonus issue.

Singapore-based Olam International’s takeover play for dairy farm developer NZ Farming Systems Uruguay got a boost yesterday as a rival overseas bidder pulled out.

Olam this week raised its bid from 55c to 70c a share, valuing the NZX-listed company at $171 million.

The increased offer is too hot for Uruguay-based Union Agriculture Group which – before Olam raised its bid – had given notice it intended to make a 60c-a-share offer.

Union Agriculture had intended to launch its formal offer next week but decided against making a bid higher than Olam’s offer.

Shayne Heffernan www.livetradingnews.com

Posted by Shayne Heffernan on Aug 27th, 2010and filed underASEAN News, Asia, Economics, Emerging Markets, Latest News, Shayne Heffernan, Singapore.You can follow any responses to this entry through theRSS 2.0You can leave a response by filling following comment form or trackback to this entry from your site